Monthly Archives: August 2015

I’m the (Kevin) Bacon of the Salesforce Community – Introducing Marisa Hambleton

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This is the fourth post in my blog series in which I will feature people I know from the community: Salesforce employees, MVPs, User Group Leaders, Partners, and honestly, anyone who I’m connected with who is willing to share with me the answers to five simple questions. I hoping that this blog series will help everyone out in the community get better connected to others who are either like them, can help them, are nothing like them, can’t help them, or are simply people they haven’t met yet! After all, a stranger is simply a friend you don’t know yet.

For me, one of the greatest strengths of the Salesforce Ecosystem is its people and the connections that are shared.

So, if you are brave enough, even if you’ve never met me in person, fill out this form and I’ll feature you in an upcoming post. (In case I have confused anyone, the questions on the form about our relationship refers to you, the reader, and me, the author, Eric Dreshfield, and not the featured person in this post.)  Just beware, by completing the form, you are giving me permission to use that information in a future post, as well as allowing me to interject some of my own thoughts into your responses!

And now…I Introduce Marisa Hambleton, leader of the Phoenix User Group.

Marisa-headshot1

What’s your job title? I am the Managing Partner of MH2 LLC, a.k.a self-employed. (EFD – So how’s your relationship with your boss?)

What does that mean you do?  It means that I wear many hats – chief cloud evangelist; business adviser & analyst; Salesforce admin; click developer; project queen; agilista; co-owner; facilities manager; maintenance crew; bookkeeper; accountant; cleaning crew; chef; landscaper;  taxi….What I really do on the job is to help businesses optimize, implement and connect to/from Salesforce. I have a background in IT and  project management, and focus on solutions that leverage all facets of technology within a business. I work with a small amazing team, and we have all sorts of fun addressing challenges with Salesforce! (EFD – So with all that, how do you find time to run a user group?)

How long have you been involved with Salesforce.com (as a customer and/or an employee)? You had me at multi-tenant…I am a Salesforce user and enthusiast since 2009, Initially staring as an Admin, I dove in head first and have been in the cloud ever since! I am a technology aficionado who enjoys various geekery and an agilista approach to software and solutions project management. (EFD – Agilista…nice word!  Combines the process of being agile with that of being a woman.  I think the #GirlyGeeks might need to know about that word!)

Bacon or sausage? Can’t I have both?  Don’t make me decide.

What’s more important: Who you know, or what you know?  Who you know. I value people first. At this point in my professional journey, am confident in what I know, realize there is always room for improvement, and am a pretty good researcher. I don’t know it all, and that’s okay. I am grateful to be part of this awesome Salesforce community, I love learning new things, reading and I have Google.  (EFD – I agree!  It’s who you know that matters, because if you don’t personally know something, someone you know, or someone they know will!)

How did our relationship start, and when? Shout out to Carol Enevoldsen, the Tucson User Group leader for making the introduction. I’ve really enjoyed helping you and Pat Solum with the User Group Leader Mentoring! I’m not a newbie, but I am totally looking forward to the Newbie breakfast. (EFD – Yeah…Thanks Carol! Although I must admit, I don’t recall that introduction…but some days I don’t even remember what I had for breakfast when it’s lunch time.)

And now the bonus question – What’s one fact about you that few people know, that will surprise me and my blog readers? I love heavy metal music. When Metallica performed at Dreamforce 2011, I knew it was a sign that I needed to be there. Haven’t missed a year since! (EFD – Metallica was my first Dreamforce too…funny how some people remember it by the bag or year, and others by the band.)

You can find Marisa on Twitter.

I’m the (Kevin) Bacon of the Salesforce Community – Introducing Dale Ziegler

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This is the third post in my blog series in which I will feature people I know from the community: Salesforce employees, MVPs, User Group Leaders, Partners, and honestly, anyone who I’m connected with who is willing to share with me the answers to five simple questions. I hoping that this blog series will help everyone out in the community get better connected to others who are either like them, can help them, are nothing like them, can’t help them, or are simply people they haven’t met yet! After all, a stranger is simply a friend you don’t know yet.

For me, one of the greatest strengths of the Salesforce Ecosystem is its people and the connections that are shared.

So, if you are brave enough, even if you’ve never met me in person, fill out this form and I’ll feature you in an upcoming post. (In case I have confused anyone, the questions on the form about our relationship refers to you, the reader, and me, the author, Eric Dreshfield, and not the featured person in this post.)  Just beware, by completing the form, you are giving me permission to use that information in a future post, as well as allowing me to interject some of my own thoughts into your responses!

And now…I Introduce Mr. Dale Ziegler from Kansas City Southern Railway.

ziegler2     ziegler

What’s your job title? Salesforce Administrator. OK….my REAL title is “Sales Application Specialist”, which was morphed from “Business Application Analyst”, but dedication to Salesforce has always been the intent. (EFD – Whoa, wait! What’s your real job title? I’m confused.)

What does that mean you do?  As the #soloadmin for The Kansas City Southern Railway, I am responsible for the infrastructure and requirements gathering for 2 Salesforce orgs (“the main org”: 209 users, and Freight Claims: 10 users), the declarative development of those orgs, facilitating conversations between IT and our programmatic development partner for web services and API’s to legacy systems, overall data integrity, analytics and executive reporting, consulting the admin for a 3rd org servicing our Environmental Response team (10 users)…plus HTML support for Marketing’s email communications, and all things Microsoft Access and SQL for my Sales Operations teammates…and I’m usually the one who brews the fresh pot of coffee in the break room because I don’t trust the age of what I find. (EFD – Solo Admin…three orgs…Coffee? Is there anything you don’t do, and with all that on your plate, how do you find time to be a husband, a dad & an active member of the Success Community?)

How long have you been involved with Salesforce.com (as a customer and/or an employee)? I’ve been in the Salesforce ecosystem for about 4.5 years now.

Bacon or sausage? Can’t I have both?  Don’t make me decide.

What’s more important: Who you know, or what you know?  What you know…self-reliance can sometimes be the most valuable tool! No matter the circumstance, one’s brain will always be with them while the “who’s” might not always be available at the drop of a hat.  (EFD – Ahem…and what am I, chopped liver? – and to clarify a little, when Dale reviewed my draft, he inidcated I was NOT chopped liver. Thanks Dale!)

How did our relationship start, and when? January 2014, you were in Kansas City for work and wanted to attend the KC User Group meeting. Some of us were getting together for dinner the night before the meeting, which resulted in the birth of #BBQForce. At the UG meeting, you got to see me fight through a 20-minute recap of #DF13 because I had completely lost my voice after KC experienced a 50-degree drop in temperatures just a few days before! (EFD – That was where I first met the awesomely, incredible Salesforce MVP Jennifer Wobser!)

And now the bonus question – What’s one fact about you that few people know, that will surprise me and my blog readers? I’ve been running for more than 10 years and have always tracked my mileage.  When I got to 3,000 miles in June 2010, my friends said they would put together a pub crawl if I ever got close to 5,000 miles.  On April 21, 2012, the “Get Dale to 5k 5k” was set up on a stretch of bars that I’d run between, “hydrating” at every bar, until we landed back at the original bar and I had finished the 5,000th mile.  The entire time, I had an engagement ring in my pocket and proposed to the lovely Amanda to close out the night! (EFD – Hmmm…interesting. My wife and I got married within 4 months of meeting online…getting close to 16.5 years together now)

You can find Dale on Twitter.

I’m the (Kevin) Bacon of the Salesforce Community – Introducing Ed Schlesinger

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This is the second post in my blog series in which I will feature people I know from the community: Salesforce employees, MVPs, User Group Leaders, Partners, and honestly, anyone who I’m connected with who is willing to share with me the answers to five simple questions. I hoping that this blog series will help everyone out in the community get better connected to others who are either like them, can help them, are nothing like them, can’t help them, or are simply people they haven’t met yet! After all, a stranger is simply a friend you don’t know yet.

For me, one of the greatest strengths of the Salesforce Ecosystem is its people and the connections that are shared.

So, if you are brave enough, even if you’ve never met me in person, fill out this form and I’ll feature you in an upcoming post. (In case I have confused anyone, the questions on the form about our relationship refers to you, the reader, and me, the author, Eric Dreshfield, and not the featured person in this post.).  Just beware, by completing the form, you are giving me permission to use that information in a future post, as well as allowing me to interject some of my own thoughts into your responses!

And now…I Introduce Mr. Ed Schlesinger from CloudSense, Ltd.

Eddie_Imagestudentforce logo

What’s your job title?  Quote 2 Cash Evangelist (EFD – Accodring to Merriam-Webster, an Evangelist is an enthusiatic advocate of something.  Hmmm….I think I know a few of those, and I might just be one myself.)

What does that mean you do?  I’m challenged with raising the level of consciousness by influencing influencers of the CloudSense brand and product in the United States. (EFD – What did Ed just say? I think he said he’s supposed to make people think about what CloudSense and Quote 2 Cash can do to help their business.)

How long have you been involved with Salesforce.com (as a customer and/or an employee)?  I’ve been in the Salesforce ecosystem for 15 years now.

Bacon or sausage?  It’s bacon or nothing!

What’s more important: Who you know, or what you know?  First you need to be regarded as KNOWING what you KNOW (and knowing it well); then, treat others as you would want to be treated and ALWAYS bring value to a meeting, conversation and overall relationship.  The who you know will then come naturally. (EFD – Interesting approach…become an expert in something, then watch the connections to people grow organically)

How did our relationship start, and when?  We got our start on Twitter about 5 years ago. We each took an interest in what the other was doing, and started having conversations.

And now the bonus question – What’s one fact about you that few people know, that will surprise me and my blog readers?  I’m very shy (OK, STOP LAUGHING)  The way I deal with it is by putting myself out there!  (EFD – I’ve known Ed for about 5 years, and have never met him in person. This will change at Dreamforce 2015!)

You can find Ed on Twitter.

I’m the (Kevin) Bacon of the Salesforce Community – Introducing Charlie Isaacs

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This is the first post in my new blog series in which I will feature people I know from the community: Salesforce employees, MVPs, User Group Leaders, Partners, and honestly, anyone who I’m connected with who is willing to share with me the answers to five simple questions. I hoping that this blog series will help everyone out in the community get better connected to others who are either like them, can help them, are nothing like them, can’t help them, or are simply people they haven’t met yet! After all, a stranger is simply a friend you don’t know yet.

For me, one of the greatest strengths of the Salesforce Ecosystem is its people and the connections that are shared.

So, if you are brave enough, even if you’ve never met me in person, fill out this form and I’ll feature you in an upcoming post.  But beware, I might interject some of my own thoughts into your responses!

And now…I Introduce Mr. Charlie Isaacs from Salesforce.
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What’s your job title?  CTO for Customer Connection, aka., CTO for the Internet of Things.

What does that mean you do? I evangelize IoT and then help customers incubate their projects. (EFD – I think all Charlie does is travel to customer sites, make presentations about Salesforce, where he almost always sneaks in pictures of his grandchildren, and takes selfies with customers, and anyone else who will pose with him!)

How long have you been involved with Salesforce.com (as a customer and/or an employee)?  My first successful startup was in 1999 – we did “Customer Service in the Cloud.” Ever since then I’ve kept an eye open towards Salesforce and how customer service should be connected to sales force automation and customer relationship management to get a full 360 degree view. This was back in the early 2000’s, and as long as I can remember, I’ve built prototypes that connected Salesforce CRM to customer service. I carried that message with me to KANA and Genesys, and we also had integrations to Salesforce that I pushed.

Bacon or sausage?  I usually do both, mixed with fried eggs over easy, but if I have to choose one, I go with bacon.

What’s more important: Who you know, or what you know?  What you know is more important. When you build a solid base of knowledge and then continue to grow your base of knowledge, you will attract good people who will want to spend time with you. Not because you are well-connected, but because you can add value to the conversation and hopefully help others with what you know.  (EFD – Charlie really excels at adding value to the conversation…or at least adding words to it! OK, that last part is supposed to be a joke. No offense intended, Charlie.)

How did our relationship start, and when?  We interacted on Twitter before I joined Salesforce in early 2012, but I think our relationship really began after you invited to a meeting of the Southern Indiana User Group and you wouldn’t take “no” for an answer. I really liked your persistence. I believe our relationship solidified and went to the next level when you asked me to support the Dreamforce Newbie Reunion Breakfast (#DF14Bacon.) That was a no-brainer for me. Your contributions to the community were above and beyond, and then, of course taking the unused ticket money and donating it to charity was the icing on the cake. That’s when I knew you were the real deal.  (EFD – Wait a sec…when we first “met” you weren’t even with Salesforce?  Wow…I didn’t know that. Oh, and quit talking about me. This post is supposed to be all about you!)

And now the bonus question – What’s one fact about you that few people know, that will surprise me and my blog readers?  I used to be an avid sailboat racer, and worked my way through  high school and college summers by racing and delivering racing boats all over the world. I used to sail with the late, great, Roy Disney and raced to Hawaii with him on the Transpac. I was in the 1979 Fastnet Race on the US team where many people died from a fierce storm. We put together an “all family team” (with my brother and my Dad) to compete in the Olympic Yachting Trials in 1984 & 1988. We didn’t quite make it to the Olympics, but we had a great time!  (EFD – Wow!  Even at a young age, you were quite the traveler. I seem to recall hearing stories about that fierce storm and the deaths.  I’m glad you survived and that we met and became great friends!)

You can find Charlie on Twitter.

I’m the (Kevin) Bacon of the Salesforce Community – A New Blog Series

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Those who know me well have probably heard me talk about my love of bacon, and some might have even joined me at the Dreamforce Newbie “Reunion” Breakfast and shared some bacon. Others have probably heard me say that I may not be an animal on Answers like Steve Molis, but I bet I know someone who knows the answer to a question, or that person knows someone who will. I think I have even told people ‘I’m nothing, if not well connected.’

Kevin-Bacon

It’s kind of like The Oracle of Kevin Bacon, except that it’s me instead of Kevin, and it’s all of you, instead of other actors.

Today I’m introducing a new blog series in which I will feature people I know from the community: Salesforce employees, MVPs, User Group Leaders, Partners, and honestly, anyone who I’m connected with who is willing to share with me the answers to five simple questions. I hoping that this blog series will help everyone out in the community get better connected to others who are either like them, can help them, are nothing like them, can’t help them, or are simply people they haven’t met yet! After all, a stranger is simply a friend you don’t know yet.

For me, one of the greatest strengths of the Salesforce Ecosystem is its people and the connections that are shared.

So, if you are brave enough, even if you’ve never met me in person, fill out this form and I’ll feature you in an upcoming post.